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Wednesday, October 17, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
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Voting for strength
and heart
By T. Lee Brown
Guest Columnist
Letters to the Editor…
The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writer’s name, address and phone number. Let-
ters to the Editor is an open forum for the community and contains unsolicited opinions not necessarily shared by the Editor.
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To the Editor:
Some comments from Greg Walden’s
debate:
Does Walden respond to people in his dis-
trict who have a problem? Why did he not
answer a voter of his in Eastern Oregon who
wrote him asking for help with a problem with
invasive grass made by Scott Seeds which
was harming his crops? (High Country News
source)
If a large number of people in his district
live near the poverty line why is it that most
of the fence signs I see in Central Oregon are
on farms? Do they get special consideration in
some way?
Walden has a VTV ad portraying him as
a veterans champion, but in the debate it was
brought out he had voted no on veterans bills
for at least a decade.
He is big on any bill for the timber industry,
understandable as the industry is good to him
with contributions.
Where is Walden on conservation? I don’t
remember hearing that from him in the debate
or any other time. Maybe it is in his news-
letter, which I have asked for four times in
the last three years and have never seen an
issue. The request seems to have reached the
Republican headquarters though as they keep
writing asking for money. I am not a registered
Republican.
Climate Change: nothing said. One cannot
buck the party approach.
By Walden’s demeanor as the debate ran
along it seemed to me that he was very uncom-
fortable any time he was asked something
which he couldn’t respond to with the party
line. I guess that is why Walden does not have
open town halls.
Was he willing for another debate before
November? He wouldn’t answer that, even
though it was asked three times. Instead he
finished with how perfectly Oregonian he is,
with a compilation of his background, which I
suspect will be in the voters pamphlet. Was that
an instance of tribalism to try to convince the
See LETTERS on page 22
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It’s easy to vote in
Oregon. We just fill in the
little bubbles on our bal-
lots, which show up con-
veniently in our mailboxes,
and send ‘em back. But who
should we be voting for?
Ideally, I’m looking for
a saint with excellent lead-
ership qualities, one who’ll
cut through red tape and
bureaucratic nonsense while
standing up for the poor and
middle class. A saint who
can cure cancer with one
hand while roping a steer
with the other, then whip
up 100,000 family-wage
jobs— small-business jobs
that make our state more
beautiful and self-reliant.
A saint who’s never made a
wrong move or an inappro-
priate comment.
Failing that, I’d settle
for a real human being with
integrity, compassion, and
honesty. One with a big
heart, a good brain, and a
pair of ears that really listen.
They should listen to every-
body in District 2, not just
people who happen to be in
their party. Nearly a third
of Oregon voters aren’t
Democrats or Republicans,
including non-affiliated
voters like me.
My candidate would
respect Oregon’s rural
traditions and encourage
their supporters to do the
same — even their liberal,
urban, and college-town
voters. Urging citizens to
get off their phones, turn
off the news, and meet up
in real life, they’d hold
frequent town halls and
public debates. Providing
an example of common
decency and trying to
bridge divides would come
naturally to them.
This person ought to
have enough government
and organizational experi-
ence to do their job. On the
other hand, they shouldn’t
be yoked to the political
establishment — much less
a bunch of mega-corpo-
rations and their lobbying
lackeys.
You’ve probably guessed
that my fantasy candidate
ain’t Greg Walden, the
current Oregon District 2
Representative to Congress
in Washington, DC. I’ve
heard enough from him to
last a lifetime.
He accepts big money
from the pharmaceutical
industry, for example, then
starts making a big show of
caring about the opioid cri-
sis. For those of us whose
families have been torn up
by prescription drug addic-
tion, this is way too little,
way too late.
Walden chairs the House
committee that’s supposed
to oversee the healthcare
industry. He could’ve taken
action long before this elec-
tion year. But he had good
reason not to.
As John Lamoreau,
formerly a Republican
Commissioner of Union
County, puts it: “No mem-
ber of Congress received
more political action com-
mittee money from the
pharmaceutical/health prod-
ucts industry than Walden
during the current election
cycle.” The Mail-Tribune
in Medford wrote up a thor-
ough explanation of fund-
ing details in “Since You
Asked,” June 2018, avail-
able online.
Well, that was a depress-
ing digression. Let’s get
back to my fantasy candi-
date, the one who might
actually stand up for real
Oregonians in Washington
DC. The one who’d come
back often to chat with us.
The one with both strength
and heart.
I think I’ve found
her. Her name is Jamie
McLeod-Skinner, and she’s
running against Walden on
the Democratic ticket.
McLeod-Skinner is a
hard worker and a big lis-
tener. Experienced but
humble, she has the cour-
age to stand up for what’s
fair. She’s not perfect—but,
for a refreshing change, she
doesn’t pretend to be. She’s
just trying to make things
better for everyday people
in Oregon.
People who are strug-
gling with rising healthcare
and housing costs. People
searching for the best in
themselves and others, even
if we don’t all agree on
everything. People who are
willing to take on the seri-
ous work of rebuilding our
democracy. People who still
believe in America.
I’m one of those peo-
ple. I’m voting for Jamie
McLeod-Skinner.
Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and
are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.